We present a challenge for long-term couples who appreciate horror films: Sit down with your significant other and view Together. The independent film success of 2025 has now made its streaming debut on Hulu. On the surface, it might appear like conventional body horror, but beneath Together lies a profound contemplation about how we choose to love one another.
A Debut Feature Delving into Relationship Dynamics
Together marks the debut feature-length film for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for over ten years. United in marriage in real life in 2017, the actors contribute a special spark to their characters, masterfully depicting both the strengths and weaknesses of a enduring union.
The plot commences when Tim and Millie move from the big city to the countryside for professional reasons. A commonly used narrative setup, sure, but that’s mostly where the cliches conclude. Together becomes as much a deep dive into the psyche of the pair’s relationship as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While walking near their country house, a tempest descends, and the protagonists tumble into an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and eventually escaping, a strange force begins influencing the couple. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes exceeding typical partnership.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying horror experience, weaving in moments of dreamlike terrors, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes amidst something horrific). Michael Shanks weaves these elements together neatly and delivers them in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is only Brie and Franco, and they skillfully illustrate numerous complexities to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his hesitance to pursue anything but his floundering music career gradually emerges.
In contrast, Tim's character feels trapped and separated by Millie, who’s the reason they’ve moved to the country and far away from his network of friends. He dreads the notion of completely losing his individual identity in Millie. This fear is intensified by the circumstance he can’t drive and is dependent on Millie for mobility.
The director's cleverest decision is that he never makes one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Tim and Millie confront the type of challenges that come with long-term unions a decade in. At their core, they have affection for one another. They still laugh together, provide solace, and open up at times. But below this facade, there’s an inescapable undercurrent of doubt about their bond.
Allegory and Meaning
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these fears of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the allegory never feels hamfisted or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a ideal counterpart to the character-driven drama. Both the frights and the fights serve the other symbiotically.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s ending, which won’t be spoiled here, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about codependent relationships. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have interpreted the film as a powerful case for remaining unattached. On the other hand, a few pairs experiencing tension found that the film ended up guiding them to make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could potentially serve as a telling indicator of how you perceive partnership. Will the conclusion plant anxiety and horror, or a positive outlook on love? Will you recognize your own traits in either protagonist and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your partner and utter, “We could get through that together”?
Regardless of the outcome, Together is an experiment you can experience at this very moment.
Together is available to watch on Hulu at present.
